Google Launched Behind-the-Scenes Campaign Against California Privacy Legislation; It Passed Anyway

Powerful companies typically combine traditional lobbying and strategies used by civil society organizations when regulatory pressures threaten their core business model.

In April, Rhode Island resident Navah Hopkins received a plea for her help to defeat legislation thousands of miles away in California.

The ask came from Google, maker of the world’s most used web browser, Chrome. The tech giant sent a message to an email list that Hopkins and other small business owners were subscribed to. Google’s request: To sign a petition opposing Assembly Bill 566, which would require browsers to provide users with a way to automatically tell websites not to share their personal information with third parties. The measure is sponsored by the California Privacy Protection Agency, which enforces state regulations on such sharing.

In its email to Hopkins, Google claimed that the legislation would “hurt your ability to use online ads to reach customers ...